Jessamine County

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Only English

27,491

97.28%

35,011

96.83%

Spanish

229

0.81%

486

1.34%

Other Indo-European*

337

1.19%

348

0.96%

Asian Language**

139

0.49%

276

0.76%

Other

63

0.22%

38

0.11%

Total Population Age 5+

28,259

100.00%

36,159

100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

151

31.07%

Other Indo-European*

57

16.38%

Asian Language**

153

55.43%

Other Language

0

0.00%

Total

361

1.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

95

41.48%

Other Indo-European*

130

38.58%

Asian Language**

61

43.88%

Other Language

30

47.62%

Total

316

1.12%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.